Mexican Standoff!
by Mahala
Summary: One-shot inspired by Smuffly's Guys v. Girls Prank Challenge in the CSI New York Fic Challenge Forum. It's not strictly a prank so I'll leave it up to Smuffly to decide whether the boys get another point. Appearing here are Mac, Jo, Lindsay, Danny and Adam!


A/N: The following is a one-shot inspired by Smuffly's Guys v. Girls Prank Challenge in the CSI New York Fic Challenge Forum. It's not strictly a prank so I'll leave it up to Smuffly to decide whether the boys get another point.

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**Mexican Stand-off**

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Adam Ross tapped his pen repeatedly on the desk. "Come on. Come on. Give me something," he cooed to the computer as though coaxing a reluctant child. "You can do it baby." Finally there was a dull bleep and a little box popped up. '_File recovered Adam._' "Good job. That's my girl." Adam grinned to himself at the little personalized touch he had programmed into the machine. The pen went between his teeth as his fingers worked their magic. Finally his hand moved to the mouse and with a deft little movement he selected a file. He watched as the progress bar filled from left to right as the file loaded. "Let's see who's going to jail. Going, going..." The video began to play. The pen fell from his mouth as he stared at it. He hit '_Freeze Frame_'. "...gosh! Oh baby, Mac is going to love us." He clicked on the print icon and stood by the printer jiggling up and down in anticipation. He grabbed the photograph the moment it emerged from the tray and dashed to the door. He faltered as he realized Mac was no longer in his office but then he spotted him standing just inside Jo's office.

Adam was so busy staring at the photograph from the revealing video he had just found on their victim's phone that he didn't look up till he was virtually at their office. He lifted his hand to interrupt. He slowed. He stared. He paused. _What to do?_

Inquisitiveness got the better of him. Hesitantly he took a step into the office. No one moved and no one spoke. Adam took a good look at their faces. Mac looked imperturbable as usual but there was a dangerous glint in his eye. Adam thought Lindsay looked kind of shocked which immediately proved to be correct as she buried her face in her hands with a groan. Jo … well Jo looked absolutely gutted. In fact Adam was surprised to discover that the normally impeccably dressed woman looked like she had been dragged through a hedge backwards. Most of her hair was pulled back in a loose braid except for a recalcitrant strand that despite attempting to tuck it behind her ear kept falling across one eye. She was slouched in her chair with a look of utter exhaustion. Her baseball shirt hung open and had a large grey mark down one side, and there was a small soot-like mark on the end of her nose.

Adam's eyes bounced from one person to another. The tension in the air was palpable. No one said a word. It was as though they were each waiting for the other to speak first. It was at that moment that Adam realized he had walked into a Mexican Stand-off. He swallowed nervously, the photograph in his hands completely forgotten. He wondered if he should back out. Still no one spoke. Adam glanced at Mac. Finally it was Jo that caved.

"They weren't even on my desk were they?" Jo's voice sounded completely lost. Adam noticed a tiny movement at the edge of Mac's lips but he didn't pick up on it as the word desk drew his attention. His jaw dropped.

"Whoa! JD! That is amazing. I can actually see your desk. " Jo gave a deep sigh. Lindsay groaned. If Adam had bothered to turn around he would have seen Mac's lips curl up a little more. Adam stared at the pristine condition of what was usually the butt of many an office joke. It was immaculate. Well almost, the computer monitor still had a multitude of coloured post-its around the edge which kind of reminded him of Lucy's effort at a paper collage photograph frame that sat proudly on Danny's desk. But other than that there was nothing on it but the phone, two pots of pens perfectly aligned and a very neat pile of buff coloured folders sitting in one corner. Adam's glance slid sideways towards Lindsay's desk which was usually the opposite of Jo's. Today it looked rather like the detritus from Jo's desk had somehow transferred itself to Lindsay's.

Mac folded his arms. "It is possible that I may have forgot to actually put them on your desk." He spoke slowly and deliberately. Adam looked at his boss out of the corner of his eye. _Was he smiling?_

The mass of hair that hid Lindsay's face trembled and groaned. She lifted her head and glared at Mac. Adam half expected his boss to be reduced to a pile of ash before his eyes in a manner reminiscent of Wile E. Coyote after a close encounter with a stick of ACME dynamite. But instead Mac's lips twitched and curled into a smile that looked eerily like that of the Road Runner after he eaten all the bird seed and caught the coyote in his own trap.

"I hate you," announced Lindsay firmly. If Adam's jaw wasn't already threatening to touch his knees, it would have descended lower as Mac's face broke into a full smile. A very satisfied smug smile. Lindsay slammed both hands on her desk and stood up. She pulled her purse from her drawer and slammed it shut again. She opened it up and Mac stretched out a hand, palm face up. Lindsay slapped a twenty dollar bill in it.

Adam's eyes widened as he watched the exchange. He looked at Lindsay. She was livid. He looked at Jo whose face looked as long as a wet week. He turned back to Lindsay. "Oh my God! You didn't?" Lindsay rolled her eyes heavenward in a gesture that clearly said he shouldn't be pointing out the obvious but Adam couldn't help himself. "You did! You bet Mac that he couldn't get Jo to clean her desk without a direct order didn't you?" Lindsay didn't have to answer. He knew he was right. The look on her face told him all he needed to know.

Mac gave a low chuckle as Lindsay jabbed at the off switch on her monitor and grabbed her coat. She paused as she passed him. "I really hate you," she repeated. She hadn't taken three steps out of the door before Mac called after her.

"Seven o'clock right?"

Lindsay ground to halt and turned around looking utterly stunned. "But you won?"

Mac shrugged. "That doesn't mean I still don't want to have my god-daughter over."

Lindsay's face broke into a huge smile. "Really?"

Mac nodded. "Really. I'll be there at seven." The after a second, he added, "After all you wouldn't want to waste your reservations at Bertolli's." Mac was rewarded with a look of absolute astonishment. "I have my sources," he whispered cryptically. Lindsay merely shook her head and went off in search of Danny.

Mac and Adam turned back to look at Jo who was still looking utterly forlorn. Poor Jo, thought Adam to himself. Whatever Mac had told her he'd put on her desk must have been really important.

"So Jo, how about I make it up to you? What do you say to cheeseburgers, milkshakes and Yogi Bear?"

Jo stared at Mac as though he just asked for the chemical composition of an asteroid. "What?"

"Me. You. Lucy. Food. Movie." Mac pulled the twenty dollar bill from his pocket and rustled it between his fingers. "Ice-cream."

"But … but what about Ellie?" Adam was stunned to see Jo almost in tears.

Mac shrugged. "I don't think she'd want to come when she has somewhere better to be." He pulled an envelope seemingly out of nowhere and handed it over to Jo. She took it and opened it, her eyes widening.

Burning with curiosity Adam leaned over as Jo pulled two tickets from the envelope. He tipped his head on the side. "Whoa! Tickets to One Direction? Those have to be the hottest seats in town." Adam's face creased in consternation. He looked at his boss. "How did you …?"

Mac put on a mock frown. "I have my sources Adam." He turned to Jo, the frown immediately replaced with a smile. "My place. Seven-thirty." Before she could respond, Mac turned to Adam and snatched the photograph from his hand. "I take it that's for me." He looked at it and grinned in satisfaction. "Nice! Don owes me a beer!"

Before Adam could ask why, Lindsay came up with Danny. She was looking very happy. Strangely Danny didn't seem quite so. They both stopped in the doorway. Danny glared at Mac. Adam frowned wondering if Lindsay's bet had upset him. Slowly Mac stretched out a hand palm up. Danny glowered. Much to Lindsay's surprise Danny reached into his pocket, pulled out his wallet and slapped a twenty in Mac's hand. Mac turned to Jo, waved the note and mouthed the words, "Light beer and popcorn!"

Lindsay's face was the perfect picture of outraged indignation."You made the same bet with Danny?"

Mac smirked. Danny shuffled uncomfortably. "Nah," he mumbled. "I bet Mac he'd never be able to get twenty off you."

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Adam made his way slowly back to his desk in the AV lab. He sat down at his computer and put his hand over the mouse. "Remind me never to make a bet with the boss." He jiggled the mouse to stop the screen-saver. The computer gave a soft feminine beep beep and a little box popped up on screen. "OK Adam."

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**That's all folks!**

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A/N : I do not own anything. Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner are the property of Warner Bros. They were created by the great Chuck Jones in 1948 and their original adventures were written by Michael Maltese. _Beep, Beep_, _Freeze Frame_ and _Going, Going, Gosh_ are episodes of Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner from 1952 and 1979. _Yogi Bear_ was shown with an episode entitled Rabid Rider.


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